Pavel Prikhodko, Ph.D. Machine Learning
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, in 2005, the United States harvested 4,888,621 tons of fish from wild fisheries and another 471,958 tons from aquaculture. The U.S. is the fifth largest producer of fish after China, Peru, India and Indonesia, producing 3.8 percent of the global total.
Recreational fishing is one of the most popular outdoor activities in the country; only running and biking activities have more participants. More than 55 million Americans took at least one fishing trip in 2013. Let’s analyze some information about the number of fishermen and anglers in the U.S. from the spring of 2008 to the spring of 2015. In the spring of 2008, the number of people who went fishing within the last 12 months was around 48.85 million people. Next spring, the number of fishermen slightly decreased to 47.79 million. In the spring of 2010 and spring of 2011, the numbers were approximately 48.08 million and 48.11 million people respectively.
In the spring of 2012, the number of participants who went fishing within the last 12 months approximated to 47.71 million people. The highest number was recorded in the spring of 2014: More than 50 million people went fishing that year. Spring of 2015 saw about 48.9 million people who went fishing in the past year.
It is logical that fishing is generally more prevalent among older people, but if we have a look at the statistics of youth participants in fishing, we see some surprising numbers here. Youth participants are considered to be a person between six and 17 years old. In 2010, there were approximately 10.25 million youth participants in fishing in the country. This number increased to 10.33 million youths in 2011 but fell to 9.95 million young people in 2012. In 2013 and 2014, the number of young fishermen amounted to 10.31 million people and 10.57 million people accordingly.
Fishing can come at a cost, and it doesn’t depend on age. In 2013, American consumers spent over $1.5 billion on fishing equipment, with the average cost of a fishing reel at $59 dollars and a rod-reel combination at about $53 dollars.
About Pavel Prikhodko
Pavel Prikhodko, Ph.D. Machine Learning
Pavel has worked for many years as a researcher and developer on a wide range of applications (varying from mechanics and manufacturing to social data, finance and advertising), building predictive systems and trying to find stories that data can tell.
In his free time, he enjoys being with his family.
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